I was recently fired abruptly by my employer without case, but since this is VA I realize there is nothing I can do about that. However my job was commision based with commisions being paid to me once my company was paid by our clients. For the months of August and September I was supposed to be getting commision checks that were for placements already earned by me in previous months. I was terminated August 18 and told by my company that I would not be paid my commisions I would not actually be on the payroll when the commision checks would be paid (only once every month on the last thursday). Is it legal for them to withhold my commisions from me since they were already earned before my termination?

Were these actually paid by the clients prior to your departure?

What does the commission agreement say about 1) when commissions are earned and 2) if you have to be in employment status at the time earned commissions are due?

Va. commissions earned by employees must be paid, although payment may be delayed, for example, until money has been collected from the customer. If the commission has been earned during employment, failure to pay it following termination of employment would be an unlawful forfeiture. If the employee has done all or substantially all that is required of him to complete a sale, and is merely awaiting payment by the customer, the Va. Dept. of Labor and Industry takes the position that the commission has been "earned." As to independent sales representatives, every sales rep. must be paid earned commissions and all other compensation earned or payable in accordance with the terms of the contract. When a contract between a principal and a sales rep. is terminated, all earned commissions must be paid within a period specified in the contract, but such period may not exceed 30 days from the date of termination of the contract, or, as to orders processed subsequent to termination, not to exceed 30 days from shipment.

I am attempting to write a demand letter to my former employer to demand my upaid commisions. Where can I find the actual law that states that my commisions are to be paid or a sample demand letter to use? Thanks